


Dad vs. Dad - The Showdown

by Royalsciencenerd



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fred'jerk'ric gets his ass kicked, Gen, Good dad Quirin, Justice, Rapunzel's plans always involve cookies and/or singing and end badly, Varian is shook though, but also 'Awesome!', continuation of a long fic but can also be read as a one-shot, sword fighting (but not violently), this is one of them, we love to see it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28152972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Royalsciencenerd/pseuds/Royalsciencenerd
Summary: Now that her father has regained his memory, Rapunzel thinks it's time for him and Quirin to talk ('yay cookies and feeling!'). Quirin's not much of talker - not when people have hurt his son.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, King Frederic of Corona & Quirin (Disney), Quirin & Varian (Disney), Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 76





	Dad vs. Dad - The Showdown

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place sometime between “Cassandra’s Revenge” and the finale. So Eugene is Captain of the Guard and Cassandra is gone. It goes along with my other fic “We’re Enough" (between chapters 6 and 7), but can also be read on its own. Both me and my beta are female so the concept of “how men fight” is a foreign concept to us, so all info comes from a 20-minute facetime call with my dad and my little brother who’s in high school. Ironically, when I asked my brother how men fight, he answered, “Idk…, usually we just scream at each other for a little bit…, it’d have to be a BIG DEAL for there to be a physical altercation. You never know who’s secretly been taking mixed martial arts and could kick your ass. I’m not taking that chance….” Poor Fred is about to learn that the hard way…. This is gonna be fun! :D

Rapunzel sighs as she picks at her breakfast. Her parents have come a long way in remembering what all happened since their memories were erased, and it seems her dad finally remembered what happened with the black rocks, the Battle of Old Corona, and Varian.

Frowning, she thinks back to their last visit to Old Corona. Quirin had been so upset about how her father treated Varian after she left. Unfortunately, her father still did not remember those events at the time, so it had been an awkward conversation - one in which there was a lot of one-sided yelling. But now, her father did remember what happened that night, and in the months following. And Quirin did have a point – her father never officially apologized to him for allowing Old Corona to be destroyed by the black rocks. Perhaps it was time they talked it out.

After finishing breakfast, Rapunzel wanders down to Varian’s lab. After Cassandra’s destruction of the Demanitus Chamber, she had given Varian a room in the castle in which he could continue his experiments. It was the least she could do after he got kidnapped after all.

Opening the door to the lab, Rapunzel found Varian mid-experiment, adding some drop of reagent to a flask while Ruddiger watched from close by. “Hi Varian!” she greeted as she stepped into the lab.

Varian jumped, turning around in surprise, and almost dropping the flask. “Hi- hi. Rapunzel, we talked about this. A little warning would be nice – especially when I’m in the middle of an experiment.”

“Oh, right…. Sorry,” Rapunzel apologized. “So, what are you working on?”

“Oh, just a little something to help with the Rooster. Did you need something?” Varian asked as he capped the flask and placed it on his lab bench.

Rapunzel took a deep breath before beginning. “Do you remember the ‘incident’ in Old Corona?”

Varian frowned. “Which incident? The one in which my hot water system exploded? The one in which I encased my dad in unbreakable amber? The one in which I unleashed an army of automatons as you attacked my home after I kidnapped your mom? The one in which I personally tried to kill Cassandra and your mom after-”

“No! None of those. Sorry, I forgot there’s been a lot of ‘incidents,’” Rapunzel interrupted.

“No kidding,” Varian muttered as he turned back to his experiment. “So, if it’s none of those, then which one were _you_ talking about?”

Rapunzel sighed. “I’m talking about the fight between our dads.”

Varian whirled back around to face her. “What fight? Did my dad do something? Is he in trouble?”

“What?!? No, of course not. You were there,” Rapunzel replied.

Varian frowned, deep in thought for a second before facing the princess once again. “You mean when my dad yelled at your dad, but he didn’t remember, so then it just got super awkward?”

Rapunzel nodded. “Exactly.”

“I wouldn’t really call that a ‘fight,’ Rapunzel,” Varian snorted as he once again turned back to his experiment. “It was mostly just my dad blowing off some steam.”

Rapunzel frowned. “Maybe…, but now my dad remembers what happened and-”

Varian whirled back around, face frozen in terror. “Your dad remembers?!?”

Rapunzel nodded, confused as to why Varian’s expression changed so drastically. “Yes, of course. He’s remembering more every day. I know you were trying to help speed up the process with science, but love and nostalgia beat science in this case, and-”

“So, he remembers me,” Varian whispered.

“Well of course! That was kind of the point. Anyways, I was thinking-,” Rapunzel paused as she noticed that Varian’s hands had begun to shake. “Are you alright, Varian?”

At the sound of her voice, Varian unfroze. “What?!? Oh! Yeah! I’m fine! Great! Super!”

Rapunzel frowned as she watched him cross his arms, hiding his shaking hands under them. “Are you sure, because-”

“I’m fine- reall-ah!” Varian attempted to lean back casually against his work bench, only to miss and topple to the ground. Picking himself up, he wipes the dust off of himself. “I’m fine,” he emphasizes, albeit sheepishly.

Frowning, Rapunzel tried to figure out why Varian was suddenly acting so weird when it finally hit her. “Varian, you know you’ve more than made up for any crimes you’ve committed against the kingdom, right? And that I’m not going to let my dad send you back to prison?” Rapunzel asked hopefully.

Varian hesitated, but nodded. “It’s just – your dad hasn’t been the most honest with you in the past, now has he?”

Rapunzel sighed. “That’s fair, but he’s changed. And even if he hasn’t, I’ll make sure he’d never hurt you.”

“You didn’t stop him then…,” Varian muttered, as Ruddiger nuzzled his leg in comfort.

“What was that?” Rapunzel asked.

“Nothing,” Varian mumbled. “Now, why are you here again?”

“Oh-right!” Rapunzel exclaimed. “I was thinking that we should get our dads together. You know – let them talk things out. Isn’t that a great idea?!? I could bake cookies and-”

“I don’t know, Rapunzel…,” Varian sighed. “My dad’s still pretty upset about everything that happened. Maybe it’d be best just to leave it alone. I don’t want to meddle, especially not when my dad and I still have some pretty raw emotions about the whole ordeal.”

“I know, I know…, but this is exactly why this needs to happen. Our dads will talk it out, and their relationship will be good as new.” Rapunzel smiled. This was definitely a good idea.

Varian frowned. This was a terrible idea. One of Rapunzel’s worst ones yet. There was no way this would end well. He might be willing to forgive Rapunzel, but he had different feelings about the king, and he knew his dad felt the same way. After all, the man’s negligence allowed their village to be destroyed by the black rocks, not to mention not helping his dad after he got encased, attacking his home, throwing him in prison with a terrorist for a cellmate, etc., etc. Having their dads try to “talk it out” would end well for no one.

“My dad’s not really much of a talker, Rapunzel,” Varian stated. “Just let it be….”

Rapunzel frowned, “Okay, if you think that’s best.”

Varian nodded. “I do.”

Rapunzel sighed, turning to leave the lab. “Okay, but let me know if you change your mind.”

Varian nodded. “I will.”

As the princess left, he shook his head. He won’t. That was a terrible idea. He was just glad Rapunzel decided not to go through with it.

~~~~~~

Rapunzel huffed as she walked back to her room from Varian’s lab. How could Varian possibly not think that their dads talking out their feelings is a good idea?!? It’s a great idea! Maybe he just needs to see that. Smiling as inspiration struck, Rapunzel pulled out a quill and began to write.

~~~~~~

When Quirin receives the letter from the king asking him to come to the castle to discuss how the repairs are coming along in Old Corona, he debates retiring on the spot. Or sending someone else in his place. Either option sounds better than facing the king once again. The king who kept his son under house arrest using his guards, almost killed his son in the attack on Old Corona, and then threw him in a cell with a terrorist cellmate after agreeing to get him help. And to top it off, he doesn’t even remember doing ANY of that. Yeah, Quirin will pass on the whole “playing nice with an amnesiac jerk just because he’s royalty” opportunity. He’ll send Walter in his place.

Except the stupid letter requests his presence by name, and that’s not something he can just ignore. Stupid letter. Stupid king. Stupid feudal system. On the bright side, Varian was at the castle, so at least he would get to see his son.

Quirin leaves early the next morning for the palace. When he arrives, he’s personally greeted by the princess, which he finds odd, but then again, Princess Rapunzel is known for tending to do things herself rather than delegating.

She escorts him to some sort of sitting-room in the inner castle, which Quirin also finds odd – why wouldn’t the king want to meet in the throne room? But he doesn’t question it. He just wants to quickly discuss the repairs, get out before he says or does something stupid and/or treasonous, and go find his son to check on him.

As Rapunzel opens the door, he finds the king sitting at a table with a plate of cookies on it. The king looks up upon their arrival, and glances between Quirin and his daughter in confusion – yet another thing Quirin finds strange.

As Quirin steps inside, the king shifts his gaze to him, still confused. “Quirin?” he asks.

Quirin resists the urge to scream. Stupid amnesia. Stupid Andrew. Stupid Saporians. Just as Quirin’s about to respond, he hears the doors slam shut behind him, and the sound of a key turning in a lock. Quirin turns to the doors, trying the handles. The doors don’t budge.

“Now you have to talk it out!” Rapunzel called from the other side of the locked doors.

“Rapunzel!” Quirin called, pounding on the doors. The king got up from his seat at the table joining him.

“Rapunzel! Let us out!” the king demanded as he too, pounded on the doors.

“Not until you both talk about what happened. Now that you have your memory back, dad, that should be easy. Just talk it all out. Let your feelings flow.”

Both men’s pounding became more frantic as they heard her retreating footsteps. “Rapunzel!” they both cried out.

Upon hearing footsteps returning they both relaxed.

“Oh! And I left cookies!” Rapunzel cheered from the other side of the doors, before once again leaving.

“Rapunzel!” Quirin tried one last time, pounding on the doors.

The king sighed. “It’s no use. She’s not going to come back and let us out. Not until we talk.”

Quirin frowned, continuing to pound on the doors. “Then I’ll keep pounding until someone else hears us.”

“Quirin,” the king began. “I-”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Quirin growled. “I have nothing to say to you, Frederic, so unless you have an idea of how to get these doors open, then there’s no need for us to talk at all.”

Frederic sighed, but said nothing, joining him in once again pounding on the doors. After about an hour, he stopped, frowning. “It’s no use, Quirin. Rapunzel made sure to pick a room with thick doors and almost zero hallway traffic. No one will hear us in here.” With that, he turned and headed back to the table, taking a seat.

Quirin growled in frustration, pounding the doors one last time before following, taking the other seat. An awkward silence followed.

“Maybe we should try to discuss what happened,” Frederic suggested.

“I already told you- there’s nothing to discuss,” Quirin stated sharply.

“I know, but-”

“Nothing!”

~~~~~~

Rapunzel smiled, humming as she walked down the hallway towards the kitchens for a snack. She should have saved some of those cookies for herself, but she’d been so caught up in making sure her good idea was executed perfectly that she forgot. Oh well, maybe the extra cookies would be just what Quirin and her dad needed to mend their friendship.

Upon entering the kitchen, she finds Eugene sneaking two cupcakes. Turning in surprise, he smiles once he sees it’s her.

“Hey, sunshine!” he greets. “I was just grabbing some cupcakes for me and Lance. You want one?”

“Of course!” Rapunzel smiled as Eugene handed her a cupcake.

“So, what’s got you in such a good mood, Blondie?” Eugene asked and he went to grab three glasses of milk.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Eugene,” Rapunzel smirked as she bit into her cupcake.

“Should I be concerned?” Eugene questioned as he returned with the glasses of milk.

“WHAT?!? No! Of course not! I just had a really good idea earlier, and I was able to implement it perfectly.”

“Is that so? And pray tell, what was this spectacular idea of yours?” Eugene asked.

“Alright, but you can’t tell anyone…. Okay?”

Eugene nodded. “My lips are sealed, Sunshine.”

Rapunzel smiled. “I locked my dad and Quirin in a room together!”

Eugene stared at her in shock. “YOU DID WHAT?!?”

“Relax, Eugene. I’m just trying to help them mend their friendship now that my dad has his memory back.”

“Do you not remember what happened last time you tried to force people to be friends? You locked me and Cassandra in the dungeon, the Stabbingtons escaped, and we both almost died!” Eugene screeched.

Rapunzel frowned. “I know, but I’ve learned my lesson since then. No dungeons, and no elaborate scavenger hunts to build a mechanical device needed for escape. They’re just locked in one of the sitting-rooms so they can talk. I’ll let them out in a few hours.

I told my dad we were going to have a father/daughter brunch and I sent a letter to Quirin as my dad asking him to come to the palace. Then I locked them both in. They have cookies – they’re fine, Eugene. I’ve put a lot of thought into this plan. There’s no way it goes wrong.”

Eugene didn’t seem convinced, but he dropped it. “If you say so, sunshine.... I would check on them soon, though.”

Rapunzel sighed. “Okay, okay.... You have a point. I’ll go right now.”

~~~~~~

On her way back to the sitting room, Rapunzel runs into Varian.

“Hi Rapunzel, I was just about to update you on my latest invention! Where are you rushing off to?” he asks as he falls into step beside her.

“Oh, I’m just checking on our dads!” Rapunzel replied.

Varian freezes. “OUR WHAT?!?”

Rapunzel flinches. “Well, I kind of invited you father to the castle to talk things out with my dad since they’ve been so distant.”

“YOU DID WHAT?!?” Varian shrieked. “I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU NOT TO!”

“I know, but I was just thinking, they used to be friends, and after seeing how not talking things out hurt me and Cass, I decided to let them talk things out one on one in one of the sitting-rooms. With cookies.”

Varian’s face pales. “You left them ALONE?!?”

Rapunzel winces. “Yes.... Are you mad?!?” 

She receives no verbal response. Instead, Varian just grabs her hand and takes off running.

“WHERE… ARE… THEY?!?” Varian shouts as they run.

Rapunzel directs them towards the room. Upon arrival they hear a scuffle coming from inside.

“HURRY!” Varian screams, as Rapunzel goes to unlock the door.

Upon opening the door, the two rush inside. Both freeze at the sight in front of them. Quirin sits atop Frederic, pinning him down, and making to punch him in the face. At the last second, Frederic dodges, and Quirin’s fist hit the floor next to his head. As he winds up for another punch, both children finally unfreeze.

“DAD!!!!” they both cry as they run over to the fight, attempting to break it up. They each grab one of Quirin’s arms and try to pull him off of Frederic, but he won’t budge.

“Dad, stop!” Varian cries. “DAD!”

Just then, Lance and Eugene appear out of nowhere and help them forcefully drag Quirin off of Frederic, breaking up the fight. Rapunzel rushes to her dad, asking him if he’s okay, while Varian just stands there in shock. After confirming her dad is okay, Rapunzel turns to thank Eugene and Lance.

“No problem, Rapunzel. We thought we’d come by to check how the talking was going…. Apparently not very well,” Eugene commented.

“Yeah, what happened here anyways?” Lance asked.

~~~ Earlier that day ~~~

After pounding on the door one last time, Quirin took a seat at the table with Frederic. How could he have been so stupid? He should have realized this was a trap! And now he’s stuck here with the last person in the world he’d currently want to be stuck with. After an awkward silence, Frederic spoke.

“Maybe we should try to discuss what happened,” Frederic suggested.

“I already told you- there’s nothing to discuss,” Quirin stated sharply. Not unless Frederic planned on apologizing for what he did to his son.

“I know, but-”

“Nothing!” Quirin growled.

After a few more moments of silence, Frederic began again. “Quirin, I know you must be mad at me-”

Quirin snorted. “You think?” he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Frederic flinched, but continued, “I know I made a mistake in attempting to ignore the black rocks and hoping that they would go away. But you have to understand – my daughter means the world to me. I would do anything to protect her. And surely you of all people can understand why I tried to hide the secret of the black rocks. You, yourself tried to hide them too after all, and-”

“You think I’m mad about the rocks?!?” Quirin interrupted, incredulously.

Frederic nodded. “But of course…. I mean, I did allow them to destroy Old Corona, not that your son helped the situation, but I reassure you, now that I have my memory back, I will do everything in my power to help you rebuild.”

Quirin clenched his fists under the table. He needed to remain calm. Varian was finally beginning to develop a new sense of normal. It would crush him if his father went to prison for assaulting the king. Breathe, Quirin. Breathe. You have to remain calm. For Varian.

Quirin took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you, your majesty.”

Frederic smiled. “Quirin, please. You know ‘Frederic’ is fine when we’re not in court. We’ve been friends for a long time now, after all.”

Quirin nodded again but said nothing.

Frederic gave a sigh of relief. “Well, now that we’ve talked, hopefully Rapunzel will come release us soon. I’m glad we were able to settle our differences and work everything out.”

Quirin grimaced. Stay calm, Quirin. Remain calm. For Varian’s sake. Speaking of which, “What about Varian?” Quirin asked.

Frederic nodded solemnly. “Of course, I can see why you would be concerned about your son given his… troubled history. However, I can reassure you that I have no intentions of punishing him further for his past misdeeds. According to Rapunzel, he has saved the kingdom many times since the Battle of Old Corona, and has been a great help to her.

And with you back to keep an eye on him in order to make sure he stays out of trouble; I have no doubts that he will continue on his path to redemption. Therefore, I see no need to punish him further, so long as he continues to be a model citizen, and refrains from threatening my daughter. I’m sure that will not be a problem though,” Frederic stated pointedly.

Quirin resisted the urge to scream. “Of course,” he stated.

“I’m glad we agree. I must say, though, it seems your son’s time in prison has done wonders for improving his attitude as well as his propensity for getting into trouble. He really has become quite the brilliant and respectable young man. Wouldn’t you agree?”

At this point Quirin was clenching his fists so hard he could feel them shake under the table. How could the king be so blind? Varian’s time in prison had done nothing but hurt his son. It didn’t mold him into a model citizen, but rather scraped out everything that made Varian - Varian, leaving behind an empty hollow shell of the son he once knew.

The change in attitude was because Varian lived in constant fear of the townspeople, the monarchy, and their disapproval. And now, with the king’s memory restored, Quirin was sure it would only get worse. The lack of trouble, especially explosions, was due to Varian’s fear of hurting anyone, or appearing as a threat and the consequences associated with that. No, prison had only hurt his son. It hadn’t helped him. He never got the help he deserved, and the fact that Frederic thinks this is the kind of help his son needed makes Quirin feel sick.

Quirin’s broken from his thoughts as the king repeats his question. “Quirin? Wouldn’t you agree?”

Quirin abruptly stands, knocking his chair over. “No, I don’t,” he states darkly.

“I’m sorry?” Frederic asks in confusion. “I only meant to compliment what a great young man your boy has become. He has really turned his life around since his imprisonment.”

“Varian has always been brilliant,” Quirin states, staring down the king. “The rest of you were just too blind to see it.”

“I suppose…,” Frederic murmured. “I’m glad he is now putting his brilliance to good use though, instead of causing explosions or building automatons. I’m sure you feel the same way.”

Quirin sucked in a breath. “No, Frederic I don’t feel the same way….” At Frederic’s confused glance, Quirin continues on, “My son has always been intelligent beyond belief, understanding things and inventing things I never thought possible. And sure, there was the occasional explosion, and sure I’ve dealt with my fair share of injuries and property damage because of him, but I’ve also gotten to experience the amazing marvels his alchemy can achieve, because my son always has been, and always will be an amazing, compassionate person who tries to do what’s right and help others.

He continues to amaze me each and every day. Sure, he’s made mistakes. He never should have messed with the black rocks after I told him to leave them alone, and he never should have kidnapped the queen, or put Rapunzel’s life at risk in trying to free me, or attacked her when his drill failed. But we made mistakes too, and that cost my son EVERYTHING!!!!

I never should have lied to my son, but you never should have hurt him in all the ways that you did. Not only did your daughter abandon him and throw him out into a blizzard where he could have frozen to death, but she never checked on him afterwards. You may ask what sort of friend Varian is to Rapunzel, but what sort of friend is Rapunzel to Varian?!?!?!?

Then you – you lied to the people of Corona. You let villages be destroyed, and lives uprooted. I might have tried to run from the rocks, but you just sat by, ignoring them as they destroyed your kingdom! And then you kept my son, the one person who knew just how bad things were and yet was still trying to fix the problem, under house arrest to the point where he had to send Rapunzel a secret letter asking for help. You knew what was going on Frederic! You knew what was happening! And you chose to do nothing!

Especially when this is all your fault to begin with. I told you NOT to take the sundrop! I told you that by taking the light, you would awaken the dark. This wasn’t just you ignoring the needs of your people, ignoring a disaster causing kingdom-wide mayhem. This was you ignoring the dire consequences of your own actions!!!! To the point where my son, in his desperation, felt the need to commit treason and kidnap the queen, to force you to come, to force you to listen.

And then after all of that, after all of Varian’s hope had been placed in your daughter’s ability to free me, after Varian risked everything, sacrificed everything, to get her to come, she couldn’t even help him. No wonder my son lost it and attacked your family! I’m not saying his actions are justified, but can you even begin to imagine how hurt he must have felt watching your reunited family embrace in a warm hug while all he had was the cold surface of the amber?!?

All Varian wanted was me back. All he needed was just a little help – for someone to keep their promise to help him. And yet no one did. You said you were going to help him Frederic. You told your daughter you would. Is throwing my son in the deepest darkest corner of the dungeons with a Saporian terrorist for a cellmate helping him?!? Because if that’s your definition of ‘help’ then Old Corona will pass on receiving any ‘help’ from the king anytime soon.

And now you have the nerve to say that my son’s time in prison was good for him?!? Varian isn’t Varian anymore, Frederic! You’ve destroyed him! I’ve spent the last few months trying to scavenge what remains of my son I can find, and trying to piece him back together, and yet he’ll never be the same.

I’m slowly accepting that. Varian is too. He’s getting better. He’s slowly and methodically picking up the pieces of himself he can still find, and putting himself back together the best he can, and I’m doing all I can to help him. He’s finding new interests and new meaning in life, and that’s helping to seal the gaps from where he was fractured. But know this, Frederic – you, your daughter, this kingdom – you were the ones who broke him! So no, I don’t agree. Nothing that happened was good for Varian. None of that was good for my son.”

After his outburst, Quirin gasped for breath. So much for trying to remain calm and respectful in order to avoid treason. Quirin shook his head. No! Frederic needed to hear this. He needed to know the full extent of the damage he’d caused to his son – to their family. If it was treason to want justice for Varian, then so be it. He just hoped Varian would understand and forgive him when he’s forced to leave him again. He hopes that this time, maybe his son will be okay.

Frederic stares at Quirin in shock, mouth agape. Closing his mouth, he reopens it to speak, but quickly shuts it again. After a long silence, Frederic sighs, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry you feel that way, old friend. But I assure you, I did what was necessary to protect my daughter. Whatever you son has told you, his perspective – it’s skewed by his own emotional turmoil. I’m just sorry I couldn’t help him more.”

Quirin lets out a shout of frustration, abruptly turning towards the doors. He’ll kick them down if he has to, but he can’t spend one more second in this room listening to the king condemn his son. Reaching the doors, he begins pounding on them once again, looking for any sign of weakness he can target.

He stops when he feels a hand on his shoulder. Whirling around, he grabs Frederic’s hand and shoves it off of him. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” Quirin shouts, turning back to pound on the doors.

When Frederic’s hand once again appears on his shoulder, Quirin turns, and shoves Frederic, screaming, “I said, ‘GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!’”

Frederic holds up his hands in a placating gesture. “Quirin, it’s no use. You need to calm down.”

Quirin clenched and unclenched his fists. “NO!” Meeting the king’s eyes, he begins to shout, “You know what your problem is, Frederic?!? Nothing is ever your fault! You take no responsibility for anything! You expect everyone to either fix the problem for you, or ignore it with you. Well, I’m not just anyone, Frederic….”

Bringing his pointer finger up, Quirin points in Frederic’s face, gesticulating as he speaks. “ ** _YOU_** are the one who brought the destruction of the black rocks to this kingdom! **_YOU_** are the one who attacked Old Corona and almost killed my son in the process! And **_YOU_** are the one who doesn’t care about anyone except his precious daughter. It makes you a decent father, but a shitty king, and I’m sick of having to help clean up your messes. I’m done! No one hurts my son!”

At this, Frederic becomes enraged. Grabbing Quirin’s hand in his face, he shoves it away and for good measure, shoves Quirin back a step.

Growling in rage, Quirin shoves him back. Next thing either of them know, they’re both on the floor wrestling. It’s only a matter of minutes before Quirin gains the upper hand, and pins Frederic down. Rearing back, he goes in to punch Frederic’s face, but Frederic dodges. In his periphery, Quirin can tell someone’s finally opened the doors, but he doesn’t care.

As he winds up for another punch, he feels four arms grab him, two on each side. They aren’t enough to pull Quirin off of Frederic, but then there’s four more arms, and next thing he knows, he’s being held back by Eugene and Lance while a panicked Rapunzel is checking on her dad.

Glancing around to see who else decided to help break up the fight, Quirin freezes as he sees his son. Varian is standing in-between the two groups, glancing back and forth between them, as if in shock. As if he couldn’t process what just happened.

Quirin focuses back on the other members of the group as Rapunzel finishes checking on her dad, and turns to thank Lance and Eugene for their help stopping the fight.

“No problem, Rapunzel. We thought we’d come by to check how the talking was going…. Apparently not very well,” Eugene commented.

“Yeah, what happened here anyways?” Lance asked.

Quirin glares at Frederic, who simply states, “Quirin and I had a minor disagreement.”

Rapunzel frowned. “But dad, you were supposed to be talking, working things out.”

“I’m not much of a talker,” Quirin growled. Quirin watched as his son finally unfroze, turning to smirk at Rapunzel, who just grimaced.

“Well, there has to be a better way to solve this,” Rapunzel sighed. “You can’t just beat each other up. Maybe I could mediate or something?”

“Or they could just spar in the courtyard like real men, rather than wrestle in a sitting-room like children,” Eugene commented.

Quirin nodded, shrugging off Lance and Eugene’s hold on him. “Fine…. Courtyard. 10 minutes. Bring two swords.” With that, he turned and left, not being able to stand being around the king and his daughter for one more second.

Varian glanced at Rapunzel for a moment before shrugging and following after his dad. After they left, Rapunzel turned to Eugene, glaring. “What was that?!? You couldn’t even try to support my mediation idea?!?”

Eugene frowned. “Sunshine, I know you mean well, but some problems just can’t be solved by talking them out. This seems like one of those.”

“But what if someone gets hurt?!?” Rapunzel asked, turning to glance at her father.

“Relax, Blondie. I’ll grab two wooden training swords. Worst case scenario they both get a few bruises. It’ll be fine.”

Rapunzel nodded, turning to glance back at the door Quirin had stormed out of. “I sure hope so. For all our sakes.”

~~~~~~

Unforeseen perk of his recent growth spurt, Varian no longer had to run to catch up with his dad after he stormed off. Instead, he could just lightly jog. After catching up with his father, Varian fell into step beside him. After a few moments, Varian finally broke the silence.

“You know you don’t have to do this. Whatever you and the king disagreed on; you don’t have to fight him.”

Quirin grunted in response and kept walking.

Varian sighed. “If it’s about the repairs in Old Corona, you don’t have to worry. I just came up with an invention to help speed up the process. It’s a-”

“This isn’t about the repairs, Varian,” Quirin stated continuing to stare straight forward as they walked.

Varian frowned. “Can I ask what it’s about then?”

Quirin sighed, stopping and turning to face his son. Placing a hand on his son’s shoulder, Quirin looked his son in the eyes. “It’s about you, Varian.”

Varian stared at his dad in surprise, glancing down to his hand on his shoulder and then back to his face. “ME?!?” he asked incredulously.

Quirin nodded before releasing his son’s shoulder, patting it as he turned and began to walk forward again.

Varian stared at where his dad had been in shock for a few seconds, before finally turning, and jogging to catch up. “Dad, if this is about the king getting his memory back, Rapunzel already promised me I’m in the clear. Or at least I should be….” At this Varian paused, eyes widening. “WAIT! Did he say something?!? Am I not in the clear? I can’t go back to prison, dad, I just figured out how to revamp the hot water system, and Ruddiger hated it there, and I just got you back, and-”

Quirin stopped again, placing both hands on Varian’s shoulders. “Varian, stop!”

At this Varian froze.

“No one’s going back to prison.” At least not you, son, Quirin thought.

“Oh,” Varian whispered. “Good. That’s good….”

Quirin nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“Then the fight is about?”

Quirin sighed. “Frederic thinks he helped you by sending you to prison. I strongly disagree. We exchanged words on the subject.”

“Oh,” Varian stated.

“Yeah… oh,” Quirin replied.

“You still don’t have to do this, dad. I’m-I’m fine,” Varian stated, refusing to meet his dad’s gaze.

“I know, son. But this is a matter of accountability. Frederic believes he helped you, and we both know that that’s the furthest thing from the truth. You didn’t deserve any of what you went through.”

Varian frowned. “And fighting him is going to solve anything?”

Quirin smirked. “I might just have to ‘help’ Frederic realize how wrong he is by putting him in his place.”

Varian grinned. “Be careful, dad.”

Quirin nodded. “I will, son.”

~~~~~~

“I still don’t think this is a good idea. My mediation plan would have totally worked,” Rapunzel muttered as she took a seat between Eugene and Varian in the courtyard.

“I already told you, Rapunzel, my dad’s not a talker,” Varian replied. “Besides, your first plan seems to have worked soooooo well,” he stated sarcastically.

Rapunzel sighed, turning back to watch Quirin and her father face off. Eugene had brought two wooden swords from the guards’ training supplies, and now the two men were preparing to spar.

“Relax, Blondie,” Eugene sighed. “It’s just some friendly sparring. They’ll take a few whacks at each other and we’ll have this resolved within the hour. Worst case scenario, Lance and I will step in and break up the fight.”

“We will?!?” Lance asked, surprised.

“Yes, Lance,” Eugene muttered, “we will.”

“But they have swords. I told you, you should have let me take a sword from the supply cabinet. But you said, ‘No Lance, you don’t need a sword.’”

“Because you don’t need a sword!” Eugene shouted, turning to face his best friend.

“I do if things go south and we have to break up this fight,” Lance whined.

“Things are NOT going to go south. Everyone is going to be fine,” Eugene stated pointedly, glaring at Lance. Turning to face Rapunzel, he put on his most reassuring face. “It’s just a friendly sparring match.”

With that, the new captain of the guard stood from his seat and walked until he stood at the center of the courtyard. “Alright, your majesty, Quirin. I want a clean match. No head-shots. The first person to pin their opponent or force them to surrender wins. Are we clear on the rules?”

Both Quirin and Frederic nodded.

“Excellent! Then you can begin.” With that, Eugene returned to his seat next to Rapunzel.

Varian held his breath as he watched his dad prepare to spar with the king. He knew his dad had told him about his time in the Brotherhood, but that had been a long time ago. Beating the king in a wrestling match was one thing, but a formal sword fight – Varian can’t believe his dad agreed to this. At least the swords were wooden, so his dad wouldn’t get hurt.

All doubts fled Varian’s mind as he watched his dad charge the king with a never-before-seen ferocity. The king side-stepped as his father brought down a crushing blow that left an imprint in the dirt where it landed. When the king moved to strike, his dad blocked easily, locking swords and forcing the king to disengage.

As the king stepped back, Quirin took advantage and brought his sword in from the right, side-swiping the king. Varian watched in shock as the king grunted in pain and twisted out of the way of his dad’s next attack. His dad was amazing! He can’t believe he never knew his father was such a capable swordfighter. He’d have to convince him to teach him – at least a few moves. Maybe he could even get his own sword (a real one, he’d already invented his own after all)!

Varian stared in awe as his dad continued to force the king to retreat, raining down blow after blow, forcing the king to remain on the defensive. The king made to swing at his dad’s feet in an attempt to knock him off balance, but his father simply jumped over the sword. His dad used the king’s misplaced swing to get in a blow of his own, hitting the king’s shoulder. The king hissed in pain and retreated a step further back. Varian noticed he was running out of courtyard.

Just when Varian thought this might be the end, that his dad had won, the king disengaged from a block, twisting around, and using his elbow to hit his dad in the jaw. Varian stood up abruptly, shouting, “Hey! No head-shots!”

Eugene sighed, pulling him back down so he was sitting once more. “Technically speaking, no head-shots means no sword head-shots.”

Varian rolled his eyes. Figures…. Count on the king to find a loophole. Varian watched as his dad shook his head, taking a step back. The king used his gained momentum to take the offensive, swiping at his father’s chest as he was forced to retreat. Varian held his breath as his dad continually gave up ground, slowly backing further and further away.

Eventually, the king brought down a blow from above, forcing his dad to engage in order to prevent being hit. His father locked his blade with the king’s, pressing back as they battled for control of the blade lock. After a minute with no ground gained on either side, the king spoke.

“You know, old friend, you really are quite good,” Frederic stated. “Your skills are impressive. And I see you have no problem attacking royalty. I suppose it’s a family trait. Like father like son,” he taunted.

With a shout of rage, Quirin disengaged, and twisted, avoiding the king’s blow, and landing one of his own on the king’s side. “Only when the situation necessitates. Like when people don’t keep their promises. But it’s like you said, like father like daughter.”

Varian quit watching the fight to shoot a quick glance at Rapunzel, only to awkwardly make eye contact and both quickly look away.

Frederic took a step forward, swinging his sword in attempt to hit Quirin’s arm and force him to drop his sword. “I did what I had to do to protect my daughter, Quirin.”

Quirin dodged and swung his sword down, forcing the king to block. As their blades engaged yet again, Quirin looked Frederic in the eye. “And I will do whatever it takes to protect my son.”

Disengaging, Quirin swung yet again, forcing Frederic to retreat. Using his forward momentum, he swung again and again, forcing the king to continuously retreat in order to avoid being hit. “You took everything from us! You were supposed to protect us. You were supposed to help my son!” Quirin shouted as he continued to rain down blow after blow.

Frederic held up his sword to block, but Quirin used his own sword to shove it to the ground, forcing the king to retreat once again. “I had to protect my daughter. I had to protect Rapunzel.”

Quirin growled in frustration, continuing his attack. “And what about my son?!? What about your kingdom?!? Your subjects?!? You abandoned all of us!!!!”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Frederic yelled as he twisted out of the way of one of Quirin’s blows.

“Yes! You did!” Quirin screamed back, managing to land a hit on Frederic’s hip. The king grunted in pain and continued to back away. “You could have let your daughter help. You could have let her try. She’s the sundrop, Frederic! You knew she was connected to the black rocks. She could have saved us! All of this could have been avoided if you had just let her go!”

Frederic ducked as one of Quirin’s blows came dangerously close to his face. “I can’t lose my daughter, Quirin. I already lost her once. I can’t lose her. Not again…,” he whispered.

“Well, your fear of losing her cost me my son,” Quirin growled as he once again swiped at Frederic’s chest.

Fredric stepped back, bringing up his sword in an attempt to land a hit of his own. “I know prison wasn’t necessarily the best choice, but what other options did I have, Quirin?!? Your son single-handedly took out most of the guards with a monster, almost took out half the town with his automatons, and almost killed my wife and daughter!!!! I couldn’t just let him walk free. Especially not since no one understands the magic with which he creates all these devices and traps.”

“It’s ALCHEMY!!!!” Quirin shouted as he swung low, hitting the king’s knees and causing him to lose his footing.

Frederic struggled to regain his footing as Quirin continued to rain down blow after blow, forcing him to block as best he could. “I had to make a choice. I chose the option I thought best for my daughter, for the safety of my family.”

Quirin hit the king’s wrist, knocking the sword from his hand. With another quick swing to his knees, he forced the king off balance. Frederic fell on his back. Placing his foot on Frederic’s chest, Quirin pointed the sword at his neck. “What about my son?” he whispered lowly.

Frederic sighed, staring up at Quirin from where he lay on the ground. “I’m sorry. I thought I was making the right decision, but no one knows your son better than you. If you say I hurt him, then I’m sorry. I was just trying to keep Rapunzel safe, Quirin. Everything I did was to protect her. Surely, you can understand that?”

Quirin stared down at the king for a second while everyone held their breath. Sighing, he released Frederic, pulling back his sword and holding out a hand to help him up. “I do, Frederic. Everything I did was to protect my son.”

Frederic nodded and sighed. “I wish we both could have been more successful.”

Quirin nodded in agreement. “Me too.”

~~~~~~

As the fight ended, Eugene went to collect the swords, and Lance went to go claim the untouched cookies, leaving Rapunzel and Varian alone sitting together.

“We’re not going to have to do that, are we?” Rapunzel asked, turning to face Varian.

Varian shook his head. “Nah, we kind of already did, and I’m not eager to relive the Battle of Old Corona.”

Rapunzel shuddered, nodding in agreement. “Me neither.”

After few more moments of silence, Rapunzel turned to her friend, smiling. “So, did you still want to show me your latest invention?”

Varian smiled back, nodding. “Of course, but I think I should talk with my dad first.”

Rapunzel nodded. “Yeah, me too. Meet you in your lab in an hour?”

“Sure!” Varian agreed. “I’ll see you there!”

~~~~~~

Rapunzel finds her dad in the medical wing, being looked over by the castle physician. “Is he alright?” she asks as she approaches.

“Yes, your highness,” the physician replied. “This exam is just out of precaution. Your father is fine, though. Just some minor scrapes and bruises.”

“Thank you,” Rapunzel replies, to which the physician nods and leaves to check on another patient.

She sits next to her father in silence for a moment before asking the question that’s been on her mind since she found both dads wrestling in the sitting-room. “You’re not going to punish Quirin for attacking you, are you?” Rapunzel asks looking at her dad in concern. That would absolutely crush Varian.

“For what?!? Being a better swordfighter?!?” Frederic asked, amused.

“I meant for attacking you in the sitting-room,” Rapunzel replied hesitantly.

Frederic sighed. “No, I won’t. I think I might have instigated that little squabble. Besides, I believe we’ve caused that family enough pain already. I think it’s time we let them heal.”

Rapunzel nodded. “I’m glad you feel that way, dad.” After a few moments, Rapunzel made to leave. Pausing at the door, she turned to face her father once more. “Oh, and dad. You’re not going to lose me.” With that, she turned and left.

~~~~~~

Varian finds his dad in his lab of all places. His father is examining his notes and blueprints pinned to the walls, and the vials of chemicals laid out on his desk.

“Dad!” Varian calls as he enters the lab, his father looking up at him and smiling. Running forward, Varian embraces his dad in a hug, which his father returns.

Pulling back, Varian smiled. “That was, by far, the most badass thing I’ve ever seen you do!”

Quirin laughed. “Well, your old man has a couple of tricks up his sleeve.” Turning to gesture at Varian’s lab bench, Quirin smiles. “I see your experiments are going well.”

Varian nodded. “Yup! No explosions in over a month!”

Quirin shook his head, but chuckled. “I’m glad to hear you’re doing well, son.”

Varian nodded again, before giving his dad a once over. “And how are **_you_** doing?”

“I’m fine,” Quirin answered.

Varian frowned. “Are you sure? Because you did just attack the king, and while it was **_AWESOME_** , I know from experience that doesn’t always end well.”

Quirin sighed. “I know. But it needed to be done. The king hurt you, Varian. No one hurts my son and gets away with it.”

Varian smiled, embracing his dad once again. “I love you, dad.”

Quirin returned the hug, ruffling his son’s hair. “I love you too, son.”

Eventually both father and son pulled back from the embrace. Turning to leave, (he did need to get back to Old Corona after all), Quirin paused in his son’s doorway. “Oh, and son?”

“Yeah, dad?” Varian asks, turning from his experiments.

“Tell the princess, the next time she locks me in a room, expect there to be some property damage in the form of some broken doors.” Quirin smirked as he left his son’s lab.

Varian stared at his dad’s retreating figure in shock, before laughing. “Awesome!”

**Author's Note:**

> I am not an expert in sword fighting by any means (I watched like 5 YouTube videos in preparation for writing this fic), so if I said anything super wrong please tell me. I think I did a good job though - I'm satisfied with how thoroughly Frederic got his ass kicked (Note: I couldn't have Quirin severely injure him because treason and jail but this is pretty good). Feel free to let me know what you thought! :D


End file.
